Anseo Tá tú Fáilte (Here You're Welcome)
by oOZambiesOo
Summary: Her family's dead, and the only thing she has left is a boy with Autism that she's put under her wing. Ex Irish teenager, Char, is on her own with Joanne, her trust worthy machete that she doesn't know how to use, in a world of devastation, or zombies. This all changes when she stumbles upon a sign on the railroads.
1. Chapter 1

It was dark and musty. She had no idea where she was, what was happening, or who she was. A warn smell drifted over her nose a few times. It was heavy at some sniffs but remained at a light airy feeling. It caused her nose to twitch and curl up in pleasure. It was a peaceful smell that reminded her of home. Home. What was home? Home was comfort, it was a safe haven for the broken soul. At least for the most part, she thought. Who was home? Who lived in home? She opened her eyes for a few seconds before closing them again. Mum and Da' lived there. Where her single sister lived. How'd she know this, she had no sense of knowing.

She remembered her mum's chocolate curls and dark brown eyes. Her da' had ginger hair that was slightly darkened over the years, from years spent outside gardening?, and had dazzling blue eyes. Her sister however, she had no memory of what she looked like. It was a blur of purple and grey, maybe even green. Piercings was one word that came to her mind. _Your lip. _Her mind was communicating with her for a short moment. Her fingers ghosted over her piercings. Two loops were embedded on her lower left lip, a single one on her right. _Was it painful? _The voice in her head frightened her, it was soft and eerie compared to the silence. She vaguely remembered her sister shoving her into the tattoo parlor demanding for a series of piercings. "Ow." She spoke aloud to her self. She jumped and closed her eyes tighter.

"Ow."

She giggled. She spoke again. It blistered the silence in a fiery passion. She smiled to her self. "Hello?" She sat up and touched her lips. They were chapped and full. In her hands she held a handful of her hair. The strands were light brown with a hint of soft ginger. What did her eyes look like? Was she more like her mum or da'? She opened her eyes and looked at her surroundings. Leather seats and dashboards. A necklace hung from the rear view mirror, two rings sparkled against the golden chain. The rings were clean and the diamond in the smaller ring had a bite in it. She momentarily looked around and saw cream coloured seats and a rubber cover for a steering wheel, freshly fallen snow had drifted in through somewhere. It was a car, obviously, with bland seats. She flipped the mirror down and gasped, loudly, when a picture fell into her lap. It was dusty as if it had never been touched in months. The back read _Fourteenth of March, Sydney's Birthday. _That was a month ago if the calendar hanging on the rear view mirror was correct. _Am I Sydney? _

She carefully flipped the picture over and examined the faces. A tall man, her da', had his lanky arms wrapped around the shoulders of her mum and two girls. One of them was her. The girl in the middle was tall and had curly hair like her mum. Her eyes were brown and the corner of her right eye had blue lacing around the brown. She was wearing a dress that covered her feet in pools of blue. She had piercings like her but was missing one. The other girl was short, most likely took after her mum, and had straight brown hair. It reached her mid section and curled at the ends. Her eyes were the opposite of the taller girl's. Her eyes were a warm kind of icy blue with light brown swimming in the upper corner of her left eye. Her dress was short and swayed around her curves and her thighs. The colour was white with lace for sleeves. Which was her? She lifted her hands to the the cover that was holding her back from the truth. She lifted the flap and was mortified. She had the blue eyes but what scared her was the specks of blood covering her face. Her head began to pound as her chest heaved.

_"Welcome home, Charlie!" Her mum shouted as she walked out. _Her sister was named Sydney, not her._ "You were in there for so long!" Her father stood to the side, his arms crossed in a friendly state, his hands hidden, "Welcome back nut case." She punched his shoulder at the nickname. A white bracelet slid down her thin wrists. _She looked down at her left wrist, _CHARLIE L. WHITE. Release Date:27 DECEMBER 2017."We missed you so much Char." He hugged her, his American accent ringing in her ears. "Did you miss piano lessons or hunting?" Her sister began. "Or did you miss your machete class with that boy, that boy named," Char smiled, "Tyler?" Her sister smiled deviously and flipped her newly dyed purple hair, "He likes you ya' know?" Char just kept on walking, her black jumper covering her pale scars, "Sure." Her sister came running up to her, "He really does." Char spun around and climbed blindly into the small passenger seat, "I'll believe that when the dead walks." It was a terrible car ride home. The divorce papers were hidden poorly in the pocket of the car. It had been an hour in the car before headlights began to appear in the wrong direction and the radio was playing a warning on repeat. _

A car crash.

Char stared deeply into her eyes, tears forming in small sprinkles. She hesitantly looked at the shards of glass that scattered on the dashboard, the windshield was broken. A body broke it. She hesitantly put her hand on the mirror, she had to see who died. She flipped the mirror up to be welcomed by the top half of her _dead_sister crawling towards her. Her stomach was stuck in the jagged shards of glass that remained in place. A sickening flesh tearing sound was made every time she tried to grab Char's hair. Char stared at the body. Her jaw was hanging loosely by a few rows of teeth that were still intact. An eye was missing and her hair was partially ripped out. Sydney was gurgling and snatching at her younger sister with bony fingers. Her pinky and thumb were missing on one hand and her ring finger on her right hand was just a bone. Her eye was the worst. It still held the little patch of blue but was surrounded by a yellow brown. Streaks of silver ran through her dilated pupils when her fingers curled. The flesh on her stomach began to tear loose as she crawled closer. Char's eyes never left her sister's as she reached blindly for the button that would push her chair back. Once her fingers wrapped around the lever she pulled with all her strength. Sydney snarled at the move and increased the ripping in her stomach. Char hurriedly attempted to untangle herself from the seat belt. Sydney broke free and crawled up Char's right thigh and prepared for a fresh dinner. Char screamed and lifted her left boot and slammed it onto her sister's head.

Char wasn't stupid, she'd read the comic books and watched the shows. She new what her sister was and knew she had to kill her, but she was thankful for the knee-high lace-up boots she had gotten as a welcome back present. The heel of the black boots dug into her sister's rotting head. Tears poured out of her eyes as the zombie across from her made sounds as her head was slammed in. The thick, almost black, blood contrasted against the freshly fallen snow on the inside of the car. Her sister stopped making the desperate sounds when Char crushed her heel into her mush of brain and skull. Her chest was heaving, it was over. Char slowly tore of her seat belt and stood out of the car. It was terrible. They had crashed into a semi truck head on, her mum and da' were squished between the two cars fronts. Char gagged and held her stomach, "I'm so sorry." She walked quickly to the trunk and popped it open. Her backpack and new machete were grabbed and applied. Her backpack slung over her shoulders and machete in the holster attached to her left boot. This was survival now and she had no one. Her parents dead, her sister dead once again, and only her. Tears fell a bit faster as she took her sleeve and tried to hide the tears. "I'm not crying, I'm not crying," she repeated as she practically ran away from the blazing caught on fire scene.

"I'm okay, I'm not crying."


	2. Chapter 2

Two weeks. It had been fourteen days, 336 hours, and plenty of restless nights. Char was exhausted and on the verge of tears when she closed her eyes. The picture of her mum, da', and sister were still there.

Char didn't know when her hips began to get too skinny or when her fingers began to blister from twirling the necklace of rings on her neck too much. She would stop by a stream every day and shave as a reminder to herself that her humanity was still there. Humanity. There was honestly none left. People began to eat each other and feel no pain or guilt. It was hard to get past them at some times. They would crowd around Char and try to sink their disgusting teeth into her fresh skin. Besides the zombies, the smell was dreadful. Terribly dreadful.

Char had scavenged for a bandana, she found a black one with a skull pattern on a dead biker, and a bottle of axe. Once she found the items the bandana was sprayed and tied around her mouth and nose. It was an okay solution for the most part. It would slow her down when the knot was loosened or when it slid up her face during intense battles with the undead.

She sucked at fighting for someone who took hunting lessons and machete classes. She barely paid any attention to the instructions and courses because she was busy watching or obsessing over Tyler. Her machete, Joanne, did most of the work while her back up knife, that had been scavenged and taken off of a boy scout that was trying to eat her, was sitting comfortably in her boot.

She was currently sitting on top of a hauling truck, machete in hand. She twirled the weapon in between her pointer finger and thumb on the opposite hand. The setting sun glinted on the blade which partially found its way into her eyes. The sun was beautiful and Char really missed moments like this. The sky was exploding peacefully into shades of green-blues, light pinks, and electrifying oranges. It was beautiful to watch the colours mix and separate and just block out the loud gurgling of the zombies that were passing by her. They shuffled along, oblivious to the lovely sunset before them and teenage girl above them. Moments like these made Char wish for a pencil. She had her sketchbook but no pens or pencils to use. Without them it was useless to carry around the burden of dark memories, sad nights, and glorious days before this all happened.

A body stirred next to her, they were sleeping peacefully as Char kept watch. He was adorable. Keller was his name and he was barley even seven. They'd met after Char had run off from her dead family. She had found him in gas station, he was talking to his obviously dead mum and was crying about losing his stuffed rabbit to a "meanie in a suit." Char had reached the child before the zombie could sink her teeth into the small child. After killing his own mother in front of him he found it hard to trust her. Char had later found out about his autism and tried to explain the situation to him. He slowly understood and quickly changed moods. He was begging her to get his stuffed rabbit that was named Marius from the "meanie in a suit." She had nearly died saving the autistic child's rabbit before grabbing him and running out of the pumps. He reminded her of a smaller, male Sydney. His eyes were big and brown and his hair was shaggy and curly like her sister's. He was a few inches shorter than Char and constantly made fun of her "boys' name" and Irish accent. (She got back at him by calling him out about his German name meaning basement.)

Keller death choked his rabbit in his arms as Char slowly caressed the boy's hair. He was the innocence that was spared by the disease to Char. He kept her going when she was craving for another razor in her hand, sliding across her veins. He smiled in his sleep and mumbled names that were incoherent to her ears. A horrid screeching brought Keller out of his nap and Char out of her day dream.

Char stood quickly while Keller clung onto her leg. She looked into the distance and looked for any dangers. "Keller," she said while kneeling to his sleeping position, "Take this." She handed him her pocket knife and jumped onto the hood of the hauling truck. "Please don't go." Keller whimpered, "Keller doesn't want Charlie to leave." Char kissed his forehead and jumped off of the hood. She cautiously walked down the road and watched her every surroundings. Her arms went weak as she gripped the rubber handle of Joanne, "Please don't be anything bad."

The hill at the end of the road was a cliffhanger for Char's suspense. There it was. It was a sick scene that made Char run back to get Keller. A pregnant woman and her husband, most likely, were being eaten and torn apart by the monsters. "Keller!" Char shouted at the small boy. Keller got the hint in her voice and grabbed his Barbie backpack and Marius. She stood on her tiptoes and tried to reach for Keller's waist. She wasn't close by any means. "I won't let you get hurt Keller, please jump." she pleaded as she watched a few zombies slump over the hill. "Keller," she threatened as the zombies began to grow closer. Keller whimpered and shook his head, "No! Keller doesn't want to!" Char bounced on her toes nervously before jumping up and grabbing Keller's ankles and pulling him into her arms. Keller squealed and giggled as he handed the pocket knife back to Char, "Friends are coming Charlie!" Char turned around to see the zombies more clearly now, they were so close. Char bounced Keller up a bit higher and ran towards the woods where a set of railroad tracks sat. She knew there'd be a map somewhere which would lead her to a different city or town.

Char avoided the twigs and branches clumsily as she managed to carry all of Keller's weight towards the tracks. "We're okay, it's all okay." She whispered to herself and Keller. "We've got this under control," she smiled to Keller as she put him down, "We've got this little man."


	3. Chapter 3

Keller hadn't stopped giggling for three hours. It had been about eight months since they met and he still couldn't get over her accent. He would giggle over how she said 'cat' or 'stop.' He was a giggling mess through his cologne sprayed bandanna. "Say it again!" he shouted while covering his mouth with his small fist, the neon yellow bandanna keeping him from going any further. Char smiled and hushed him, "I will if you can be quiet, our friends might be hiding from us, and I don't want any surprises." Keller looked through the rows of trees and nodded his head spontaneously, "Again!" Char smiled and swung Keller around in her arms, "Twenty-turd." It was supposed to be 'twenty-third' but it came out wrong, as usual.

Keller giggled even more, but quickly stopped and put his small finger to his lips, "Shh." Char smiled and pulled on the hem of her blue t-shirt, the weather had changed, and her fuzzy jumper was no longer needed, "Shh." Keller rubbed Char's stomach, "Keller is hungry, Charlie." The Irish teenager frowned and scavenged for a small portion of food in her bag. Clothes, peroxide, bandages of all sizes, two water containers half-full, and energy bars. Char grabbed a chocolate-chip energy bar and opened the package. The sweet smell of the chocolate made both of the survivors stomachs growl for a piece. "Here," Char spoke as her small fingers split the bar in two, giving Keller the larger piece.

Keller's smile seemed to glow brighter as he took small bites out of the bar. "Thank you Charlie!" he squealed, and clapped his hands, ankles kicking painfully in her back. Char grabbed his small hands in her equally small hands when a bush began to shake. She was zipping her pack and checking in Keller's Barbie pack to make sure they had everything before they ran. They never fought, they just ran. Keller had no strength to fight, and Char may have had a few skills, but her fighting skills were low in quality.

"Keller, are you ready to go?" she questioned as they practically ran on the train tracks. Keller grumbled, "Keller doesn't want to." Char sighed and grabbed Keller's hand in her's, "Do it for your mommy." Her tongue was foreign to the word mommy or mom, it had always been mum or mummy for her. Keller sighed loudly and rolled is head back, "Fine." Char thanked him and led him to a tower on the right of the tracks. It was made of semi sturdy concrete and had an old rusty ladder hanging off the side.

"Be careful Keller," Char warned as she observed all the loose bolts in the ladder and various cracks in the tower. Keller slowly climbed to the top and soon began to sing a song about being on top of the world. Char smiled and slowly followed his steps up the ladder. She sat on the edge with her feet dangling off the edge, she'd always loved heights. Heights made her feel free like she could fly or catch a ride on a cloud. She enjoyed the wind that seemed to gradually get heavier when she got higher. Char closed her eyes and hummed with Keller. He gradually grew louder in volume her and bounced his heels on the edge and sang loudly, "Because I'm on top of the world!" Char licked her chapped lips as she watched where they had ran from. The bushes were still trembling as if they were afraid of what was crawling or walking through them.

It wasn't surprising as it had been at first. A zombie, a female child with one pigtail, the other ripped out, trudged out. She was wearing a Dora night gown that was covered in thick splotches of mud. Her cheek had a twig going through it, her eyes vicious and wide, her skin had greyed and cracked under the sun, and her growl was soft but frightening at the same time. Her limbs were still intact but her nails had crusted blood on the insides and rims. She shuffled towards another sound on the opposite side of the woods she had came from. Her torn legs soon disappeared in the thicket before a rabbit had revealed its hiding spot. Keller leaned his curly head on Char's shoulder. "What's up bud?" she asked as she rubbed his back. "Keller is tired." he yawned. Char smiled softly and leaned him down onto the floor, his pack acting as a pillow, "Rest babe." He giggled at the pet name and soon took out Marius and shoved his thumb in his mouth before falling asleep; however, Char couldn't sleep. The stars were keeping her mind awake. They twinkled in lying hope; they sprinkled some kind of reassurance over Char. Char wished she could cover up the stars with a large blanket to keep out the guilty pleasure of hope.

Keller snored silently as Char climbed down the rickety ladder, she had to clear out the tracks and memorize the twists where a bump was so Keller wouldn't trip. She walked towards the never ending tracks in front of her, a loose sign hung from a pole next to her. _Just a useless map_, she thought_. _

**Terminus, a Safe Haven. **

It was so far from useless.


	4. Chapter 4

Terminus was miles away. It would take three days at the least. Now, Char could be wrong because she nearly failed maths, but her brain was saying otherwise. The thick black line etched across the map that was glued to a cardboard square on a wooden pole. It was carefully traced to show specific directions to the so called safe haven.

To say the least the lines spun in with the math and collided in Char's head, it was confusing. Her excitement, however, overcame her confusion as she tore the map off the cardboard and ran to Keller who was still sleeping. She latched her hands on the bars of the ladder and began to climb. Her smile slowly began to frown. _Were people still there? What if they're all zombies? Or what if it's just a trick to get peoples' supplies? _Char stopped and let go of the bars to examine the map, her heels anchored on the one bar she was on. Before she could rethink anything a hand grabbed her ankle.

Char let out a screech as a male scream erupted from the other side of the woods. The weak sixteen year old didn't dare to look down. She kicked the predator holding her boot and scurried up the ladder. Her jeans tore into bigger holes on her knees which resulted in scrapped knees which resulted into blood. A terrible chain reaction in the middle of the zombie apocalypse. Keller was already up and gathering his stuff into his pink pack while he cried, "Keller is scared. Who else screamed?" Char looked alarmingly at Keller, "I thought that was you, Keller." Keller waddled over to Char and latched himself onto her, "I wanna go home!" Char sighed and hissed at the burning over knees, "I'll get us out of this." _Hopefully. _Char put Keller down and sucked in a breath before looking over the ladder.

The little girl in the Dora dress was there, along with about fifteen other zombies. Char shivered and set her mind into determination, she was going to get Keller out alive. Char gripped Joanne and carefully leaned over the ladder. Their teeth snapped and their jaws tightened at the sight of fresh meat. Char weakly swung the blade of Joanne into their necks. The swing wasn't hard enough to disconnect the flesh so, some of the heads hung by a thick string of tissue or flesh. Their hands still made grabby motions blindly in the air for the flesh hovering above them. Char slid down the ladder and clenched the rubber grip harder, about nine more stood before her with their limbs still intact. She tiptoed over the grabby hands and grabbed a rock. The bodies of the over zombies were walking towards the woods where the scream came from. Char twirled the rock in her hand, finally something she was good at. She chucked the rock high up over the bodies towards the front of the woods that encircled them. The zombies followed the sound of the crunching of twigs and leaves. They were distracted.

Char whisper-shouted for Keller as the zombies hunched over into the woods. Keller slid down, thumb in mouth, and grabbed Char's slightly bigger hand, "Keller and Charlie leaving?" Char smiled and ran towards Terminus, "Yep, Charlie and Keller are leaving." Keller looked at her skeptically, "Promise?"

"Promise."


	5. Chapter 5

Char was nearly wheezing from running so far without any breaks. Her lungs felt as if they were going to combust into flames and soon shrivel up. Keller was the exact opposite. He was full of energy and bouncing around on his glow-in-the-dark shoes.

"Come on Charlie! Keller wants to meet people!"

"Really?"

"Really!"

Char smiled through her wheeze and continued to stumble on her rubber-like legs. "Let's-" wheeze, "stop for a s-second." Keller smiled and pat Char's stomach, "Keller will let Charlie rest." Char smiled weakly before dropping quickly to rest her shaking legs. Keller sat down next Char and put his head in Char's lap, "What're we gonna do now?" Char leaned back to where her hair was sweeping the ground, "I don't know babe, let me rest for a bit and then we'll move." Keller once again giggled at the pet name before patting Char's stomach every time it would rise from the heavy breathing. They sat like this for a few minutes enjoying the peace and what little humanity that they held on to. A breeze would pass once in a while. It swept Keller's and Char's hair around and blew a few pieces of paper down the quiet street. Keller continued patting her stomach while Char's hair was picking up specks of dirt and leaves. It was nice, really nice. It was one of those afternoons where Char didn't wish for a blade or a noose, it was peaceful and Terminus was still exciting her more than anything. "Keller," she whispered as she lifted the boy off her, "You ready to meet some new people?" Keller began bouncing up and down on the tip of his toes, "Keller is ready!"

Keller was walking with an extra bounce in his steps. Marius' ears flapped up and down through the open part in the back pack's zip. He was holding his backpack straps tight as he skipped and sang no particular song. "Keller is so excited!" he sang. Char ruffled his hair as they continued following the never ending tracks. Char's eyes were focused on the wrinkled map in her hands. The paper was slightly yellowed with small splotches of blood on the top corner. "Left turn here, Keller." Keller held up his hands and made an 'L' with both hands. He found the correct 'L' made from his fingers before turning left. Char gently patted his head as she continued to stare at the map, she had to find a place to stay.

It was almost dark and the tall shadows from the trees were looming over them with their bold colour. There was a small shopping center, a restaurant, a few houses, and a train station. Zombies were bound to be found in all of them, but Char was going steady for one of the houses. She put the map away into her pack before grasping Keller's hand in hers. She squeezed his hand three times to signal that she loved him. He smiled up at her and squeezed three times much harder than Char, "I love you, too." Char smiled down at him as she lifted him onto the taller side of the tracks. She held his hand as he wobbled along on the bar. She would do anything to make that smile come out on Keller's face. His crooked teeth showing themselves as his lips spread and his eyes crinkled in happiness. She would do _anything._

Char would distract him when a few zombies would walk by, she would kiss his hands when he was upset, she constantly called him 'babe,' and she always let him eat or drink the larger portion. He was always put first when it came to survival, her vow to keep him alive was staying true. She loved the little boy and wanted him to grow up to see sixteen years of age and live longer than most children his age in this predicament. It was his life she was guarding and his mind that she was trying to keep innocent. She wasn't the main priority, he was. Keller pulled on the sleeve of her t-shirt, "Keller sleepy."

Char smiled and lifted him down. She placed the backpacks on his back and lifted him up to her back. He was slightly heavy to manage in Char's strength but, she managed. He yawned loudly in her ear and loosely hung his ankles around her hips. They weren't far from a house for sure, she was going to get Keller a nice bed with a comforter to sleep in. Keller mumbled in his sleep and began to kick. "Keller?" Char asked.

"No!" he shrieked. Char dropped him and bent her knees a bit to reach his eye level. He was twisting in her grip and crying, "No!" Char shook more violently in an attempt to wake him up. It worked. Keller screamed and pushed Char away, "Keller is scared!" He dropped their bags and ran towards the woods. He barely made it before tripping and falling to the ground. A sickening crack filled the silence.

"Keller?" Char rushed out before running to his side. "Oh my god."

He landed in a sleeping position, but his _head._ His head was bleeding profusely. A large gash was the start of the bleeding. Char quickly ripped off her t-shirt and shivered when the gust of cold wind traveled through her tank-top. She steadily held the t-shirt to his wound as she grabbed the packs with her foot. She placed the packs on her back with her free hand while she carefully picked Keller up into her arms. She held the t-shirt down to his bleeding wound, nearly passing out when the crimson red began to soak into the t-shirt, and ran to the nearest house. She wasn't going to let Keller die, she couldn't let him turn.

She could her Keller criticizing her in her mind. _"Promise you won't let me leave?" _Char smiled wearily.

"I promise."

She struggled to fit them both in the doorway of the large house she chose. It was in a deserted neighborhood that was secluded in trees. The house had already been cleared out of zombies, people had been here. A couch sat in front of the door and that was the hardest part for Char, pushing the large object back until she could slide them in.

She carefully placed Keller on the sofa before lighting a few of the candles around her. She scrambled through her bag to find the bandages and peroxide to use on his wound. Keller stirred when she ripped a thick part off her shirt to dab peroxide on. Char pulled her bandanna down and quickly placed the peroxide soaked strip onto his cut. Keller made pained noises in his sleep as the peroxide began to bubble and clean out his wound. With a few band-aids and careful placing, Keller had something helping his wound. Keller lie there with a blank expression on his face, a blue strip bandaged to his head and a few scrapes here and there. Char was certain that he was breathing. It was soft and calm as his hands fidgeted on his stomach. Char rubbed her arms before going to the stairs to find a new shirt. She scavenged through a teenage girl's closet. It contained mostly tank-tops and skirts. Char sighed as she picked at the large holes in her jeans, this was no help. Before she turned to walk away a box on the top shelf caught her eyes, _**Jen's Travel clothes**_. Char jumped before her fingers pulled the box down, this was it.

She threw a few white shirts out of the way before she found a leather jacket. The jacket was a shiny black that had city, state, and theme park names stitched into the jacket. The emblems were bright colours and really proved to Char that she still had some fashion sense. She grabbed the jacket and set it aside before grabbing a dark red shirt. She shoved on the garments and studied her boots with the bandanna tied to the left one. They were fine for now. Char's head snapped towards the stairs when she heard a whimper. Char nearly tripped when she saw Keller rubbing his head in pain. "Keller!" Char squealed as she ran and hugged the boy. "Charlie, why is Keller hurting?" Char pulled him back and examined his face before whispering the story to him. He instantly apologized and hugged her tightly, "Is this Terbeny?" Char grinned, "No it's not Terminus, we haven't reached it yet." Keller jumped up and gathered his Barbie pack and threw Char's pack onto her back, "Let's go!" Char giggled before pushing the couch out of the way and opening the door for Keller. He curtsied and exited the house as Char read out the directions.

_I never broke that promise._


	6. Chapter 6

_**A/N: Before you read this I just wanted to say that I'm changing up Terminus and most likely not following the series at all…oops…I hope you guys like it!****  
**_

"_**Terminus, your new safe haven, welcomes you. Please, remove your weaponry, and carefully make your way to the Bypass. We enforce your safety and others, so please do so." **_Char listened to robotic voice as it repeated its ongoing phrase. Keller was silently sitting next to her, earlier he had claimed of a headache. They were crouched behind a tree eyeing the massive safe haven.

Its outer most part was enforced with tall barriers of fences with barbed wire on the top. On the inside stood warehouses that held a bland yellow chalk colour. Char could make out someone whistling and the sound of crackling. _A fire._ Char visibly shivered at the bad memory before turning to Keller, "You ready, Basement?" Keller grinned and hopped up quickly. "Bad idea," Keller whispered as his fingers rubbed his temple. Char cooed at him as they made their way towards the large wired fences.

"_**Terminus, your new safe haven, welcomes you. Please, remove your weaponry, and carefully make your way to the Bypass. We enforce your safety and others, so please do so." **_Char secretively placed the boy scout's pocket knife in her boot before helping Keller remove his backpack to place in Char's hands. With a deep breath Char pulled back the gate with her free hand and walked inside the haven. It wasn't at all like she expected. The walkways were empty and the only sounds were coming from the person by the fire. They walked past fold-able tables covered in old radios, plates and utensils, dirtied clothing, and old household items. A single lamp with a broken light bulb sat around multiple used napkins, bile and blood covered the brown napkins. Char held back her gag and grasped Keller's sweaty palm in hers. She squeezed three times before he weakly mimicked her action. The whistling grew louder as they gained distance inside the small town.

"_**Terminus, your new safe haven, welcomes you. Please, remove your weaponry, and carefully make your way to the Bypass. We enforce your safety and others, so please do so." **_

A woman hovered over a fire, rubber gloves over hands. She turned quickly when Char and Keller approached her. She smiled, her many wrinkles of aging turning up, "Hi, I'm Mary." Her hair was lazily braided and she was adorned in clothing that matched the dirty ones on the fold-able tables. "Hi," Char whispered. This was real. A real human was standing in front of her. Mary's smile grew wider when she saw Keller, "Oh dear, how'd that happen?" Char caught what she was thinking, "He tripped on the tracks when he had a night terror." Mary looked up to Char, "An accent I believe? Scottish?" Char smiled and waved her hand, "Irish." Mary nodded her head and gripped Keller's shoulders, "Let's get you cleaned up and bandaged again shall we?" Char gripped their bags, "I'm Charlie, Char for short, and this is Keller." Mary took off her gloves and removed the fragment of clothing from Keller's wound. His wound was covered in dried blood and was slightly yellow on the sides, "This should be redressed, follow me." Char obliged and let out her sigh of relief, this was real.

Mary was in the middle of redressing his wound when a group of people came into the small room, "Mary why didn't you tell me we had visitors?" The group consisted of two women and a man. Mary began chirping about Char and Keller, "She has an accent, a Scottish one!" Char coughed, "Irish actually." The man briefly smiled before sticking his hand out, "Thomas." Char shook the man's hand, "Charlie, I prefer Char, and Keller." He removed his hand and began to talk to the group.

They were all dressed in the same clothing. The colors were bland, a mixture of tan, browns, and reds. They were a smaller portion of the population in Terminus. The women's names were Abigail and Yvonne. Yvonne was taller than the man and Abigail. She was slightly threatening with her short pixie cut that help multiple colours and built arms. She had a deep voice for a woman and talked in a slur, "Ya' know how to use that?" Char noticed how the 'h' in that was silent which made her say 'tat' instead as Yvonne pointed to Joanne. "Joanne? Um sort of, I took classes." Yvonne cracked her knuckles before barking out a laughter. "Did ya' her that, Abigail? That there machete is named Joanne!" Abigail was a slightly shorter version of Yvonne, except her skin was dark and her hair was longer and natural. Abigail looked less threatening than Yvonne and had a sweet smile. "Sure did, honey. I sure did." Yvonne whispered something to Abigail which made the Yvonne smile wickedly. Char's stomach churned at the smile as Yvonne began to speak, "How 'bout I show y'all your rooms?" Char gripped Keller's hand as the two women removed their weapons and searched their bags. "Safe." muttered Thomas as Mary continued to shout stories in his ear.

"Keller, stop picking." Char said as she gently smacked his hands away. Keller had fresh bandages wrapped around his head that were slightly red from the blood of the wound. He complained about how the heat outside was making them itchy and burn. Char sighed and rubbed her maroon t-shirt, "I know babe, but picking will mess with the cut." Thomas and Yvonne led them down countless corridors outside as they were talking aimlessly about how wonderful Terminus was.

"We even have warm showers and beer!" Yvonne shouted, "I heard you foreigners drink lots of it up there." Char smiled weakly at the stereotype, "I was still in middle school when I was in Ireland, I couldn't drink, fortunately." Yvonne clapped her hand on Char's back, "Well there's no more laws so you can drink freely!" Char turned down the offer and squeezed Keller's hands three times. He squeezed back even weaker than before. "Keller?" Char asked as she stared at him. He closed his eyes as swayed slightly, "Yea?" Yvonne grunted, "Are you sure that wasn't a bite?" Thomas gathered his pistol and aimed at Keller's head. "Don't fucking touch him!" Char shouted as she moved in front of Keller. Her lips tingled at the curse word that had rolled off her tongue. Keller put his arms around Char's stomach as their words began to jumble in his head. "He's fine! He tripped and fell on the train tracks a," Char paused, "a few weeks ago!" They didn't buy the lie. "I bet she's with that 'Jesus' man that came by her a few weeks ago!" Yvonne shouted. "He's tryin' to infect us all here! He's gunna ruin us and our chances of food!" Char shook her head wildly, "I swear he's not bitten! I've never even heard of that man!" Thomas lowered his gun and nodded towards Yvonne. Yvonne pulled Char away from Keller as Thomas sauntered up to Keller. Char screamed profanities once again, "Don't you fucking touch him!" She kicked roughly at Yvonne's shins. She grunted and squeezed Char's mid section tightly. "Please!" Char wheezed as she kicked harder at Yvonne. "Stop!" This wasn't Char this time.

Mary came running after them, she had a worried man running after her. Yvonne's attention was focused on Mary which gave Char the perfect time to escape. Char kicked Yvonne once more before running out of her grip. She ran immediately to Keller's side and picked up the passed out boy. Mary began to come up with excuses that they seemed to believe. Keller was breathing fine and his pulse was strong, that was all that mattered. Thomas coughed and pried Keller from Char's arms. "Please!" Char screamed once again but louder. She began to charge at Thomas before a blow was aimed at her head. Char face planted and tried to crawl towards Thomas. "Here…take him…..pit with others."

Char's eyes begged to close but Char refused. She raised her head as Thomas crouched in front of her, "I hope you weren't planning on staying for to long." Char spat at him, her mother language came out in the haze, " Ní bheidh tú beo a fheiceáil dom dul má tá tú teagmháil air." Thomas pat her hair before she blacked out at the sound of Keller calling her name.


	7. Chapter 7

It was just like it was when she woke up from the car accident, except this time she remembered everything. From Mary's wrinkles to Marius, Keller's bunny. Instead of warm it was cold like a meat locker.

"I see you're awake." This wasn't Thomas. This person's voice was gruff and fuzzy like a telly without cabble. Char stirred a bit in her seat before forcing her eyes open. It was unbelievably bright. The white light slowly faded into yellow. Char moved her wrists to wipe her eyes but found herself unable to. "Thomas came in here and tied you down. Said you were trouble." Char ignored the man and continued to struggle, "Keller?" The tight fabric rubbing her wrists raw.

Her eyes worriedly searched the room for the small Autistic boy. "Keller?" she shouted this time. "Hey, he's not here. They threw him in the pit with the others." Char stopped struggling and turned to face the man, "What?" He was much shorter than she imagined. He was maybe 5"11' at the most and had shaggy black hair. "I'm just here to watch over you. Kevin-" Char frowned at him, "Keller."

"Keller," he corrected himself, "was put in the pit. Don't worry it's not really a pit, more like a-a….a trailer." Char sighed of relief before taking in her surroundings.

A tall Clamp lamp stood over head at a blinding angle. A tray of pliers, a butcher knife, rags, and a various bottles of medicines sat on a cart. She was in a dentist chair, maybe, with her legs and wrists tied down with a strong fabric straps. "A torture chamber? Really?" Char sarcastically spat her watcher. He laughed, "No, this is much more than a torture chamber." Char deepened her frown, "All I did was defend my brother." Her watcher didn't catch the lie as he dug out a piece of meat with a bent toothpick, "Well, Thomas really thought you were threatening." He flicked the loose meat at Char's boots, "Said you pulled a machete out on him." Char laughed, "I didn't even have-" He tossed the toothpick aside and stepped closer, "You want to know what we do to visitors?" Char regretted her every decision on speaking or somehow provoking this man. He smiled and dug some more into his pocket, "We eat 'em."

Char might of screamed bloody murder but the man took a strap and placed it over her lips, "I never noticed those piercings." He dug out a cigarette and lit it over her face, "We might have to do something about that, don't want anyone choking on 'em." Char whimpered and tried to dig her feet and wrists out of the restraints. The man took a suck in before dusting the embers off onto Char, "Let's begin shall we?" The man dug his cigarette into Char's left temple, a muffled scream escaping. He dusted his hands off and began to grab the pliers. He ghosted over her right piercing and grasped the metal ball in the pinchers of the pliers, "Their in tight aren't they?" He gently tugged at the ball which let out a small pain. Char barely slipped her foot out of the restraints when he pulled harder, "Damn." Char closed her eyes at the blinding pain and kicked him with her right leg. Her right piercing pulled out as the tray knocked over and fell on top of the man. Char wiggled faster as he tried to stand. She freed both feet before kicking wildly again. The man coughed uncontrollably before spitting the ball into his hand. Char's eyes widened as she blew her heel into his nose, pushing it upwards. The man gasped once before collapsing. Char let out a sigh of relief, one less problem, now she had to free her hands.

Char attempted to yank her wrist out of the restraint but found it useless. She dug her elbow into the armrest as her left hand painfully slipped through. She tried to claw through the right strap but she failed once again. Char screamed out in frustration as she realized her only escape, the lamp next to her. Char hesitantly grabbed the neck of the Clamp lamp and bent it's head over to her wrist. The hot light bulb seared through the strap as well as her skin. Char bit her lip as she bounced in her chair, it was obviously painful. The smell of bubbling blood made Char throw the lamp across the room, the strap was broken but her wrist was painfully burnt. The flesh under the skin that had shriveled away was red and pulsing as her skin shriveled up around the dried blood. Char cursed silently as she dug around the bottles of medicine on the tray, luckily she found a bottle of disinfectant and poured the cold liquid over her burn. It painfully bubbled as the wound was cleaned.

Before leaving, Char wrapped her wrist in a rag and grabbed her packs that was lying on a table in the cold room. At the moment Char wished for Joanne to be at her side but Yvonne had taken her beloved machete. Char sighed and carefully looked for any person that happened to be walking around. Char was about to step out for Keller when the familiar voice shouted at her.

He wrapped his arms around her neck making her fall. He kicked the door shut and sat on her chest as his fingers tightened on her neck. Char began to see white dots as she grabbed the knife hidden in her boot. She struggled to flip the blade out as he pulse grew quicker around her neck. Once the blade was free, she quickly dug the knife into his back when she began to close her eyes. He let out a struggled sound before his hands left her neck.

Char sat up, gasping for air as he stumbled around in an attempt to grasp the pocket knife. Char weakly stood and stepped on the knife, digging it in deeper. She spotted an intercom in the corner of the room and quickly formed a plan, "Follow me."

"_**People of terminus-cough-lunch is being served in the Wreck Room. Sorry for the short notice, this is Nathan confirming the message." **_Once the static sound of the intercom cutting off sounded, Char removed the pocket knife and stabbed Nathan in the head. His hair began to clump as she pulled the blade out and blood leaked out of his wound. Char dragged his body across the floor and quickly strapped him in the chair that she was once in. Toying around with her empty piercing hole she picked the small bead up and placed it back into the piercing. She quickly ran out, knife and packs in hand, to find Keller. _"The Pit is in the courtyard, there's going to be guards at every corner, you'll never make it." _Char gripped her blade and ran to a fence with a horde of zombies standing and snatching obliviously to its right. She cut a hole in the fence large enough for the zombies to stumble in before shouting at them to attract them. The sound of multiple people screaming in the wreck room signaled for Char to run with massive horde of zombies running after her in multiple directions. Their paths changed when people emerged from buildings to find the source of the scream. Char pulled up her bandanna at the smell before running towards the courtyard.

It was more like a storage container you'd see at shipyards. It was a dark green colour and had various sounds quietly coming from it. Char ran towards The Pit and pulled out her knife. She began to pick at the lock when Yvonne's voice shouted something at her. "You little bitch!"

Char was slammed against the door of The Pit. Char kicked at Yvonne's face, breaking her nose and bruising an eye. "You've gotten stronger haven't 'ya?" Char slammed her heels into the sides of Yvonne's ribs which resulted in a sickening crack. Yvonne stumbled back, her hands gripping her sides. "You.." she grabbed Joanne out her back pocket and shoved the blade towards Char's chest. Char grabbed the blade in her hands as it cut her palms deeply. "You are gonna pay for-" she was stopped abruptly when a zombie grasped her and ripped her neck into shreds. She let out a scream similar to Char's before collapsing into a pile of zombies. A puddle of blood seeped under the door as Yvonne continued to scream. Char grasped Joanne before slashing the metal lock and plastic ties around the handle.

Char swung the door open and ran into a man. She discarded him and quickly found Keller. "Charlie!" Keller squealed as they embraced each other. He was crying, his warm tears soaking through her shirt. "Hey babe." Keller giggled at the nick-name before pulling back and grasping Char's cheeks. He squeezed them three times and hugged her even tighter. He didn't seem to care that her blood had soaked into his shirt before slowly stopping its flow. Char smiled at Keller before standing with him. "Charlie, Keller wants to know what happened to your face and hands." Char picked him up and rested him on her hips, "Later babe." A voice interrupted their greetings.

"Hey Irish, who are you?"


	8. Teaser?

Char seemed to abruptly stop at the man inquiring her.

"None of your business, and if you'll excuse me, I'll-"

"No," he grunted and stepped over to block her path, "who are you?"

Char pulled her bandanna down, a fierce glare in her tired eyes, "I'm your fucking savior, now step aside."

The man complied to her request as she pulled Keller into her chest. She was tired, and past the polite and patient side she usually held in her demeanor.

Char had stepped outside of the storage container, hand over her eyes and arm protectively pulling Keller close, "We're going to have to rub, okay, babe?" The zombies that crowded the open streets growled maliciously, mercifully tearing apart the population of Terminus, no remorse as they sucked in the victim's flesh between their teeth. Keller smiled, but he shrieked when a zombie laced its arm around his. Char had her hands ready to split the zombies head in two when an arrow blazed through the skin. Char snapped her head towards the man who nicknamed her 'Irish.'

"Thank you-"

"Daryl."

He nodded and followed her back, firing arrows, collecting them, and restarting the process. Char attempted to defend herself and plow through the horde she had created with Joanne, but the blade barely disconnected the flesh of their necks, so she took a new process. She swung the blade towards the head for the first time in months, creating a master piece of soft skulls, globs of brains, and blood. Char had noticed that the whole portion, if not all, of the people in Keller's confinement were together, watching over each other's shoulders and calling out orders.

Char possessively pulled Keller onto her side away from the group, pushing her way through the horde one-by-one. She swung right and left, not caring if she was hitting a target or not. Her boots crushed the fingers and other fragments of body parts under the immense pressure she put on them form her heavy stomping. Char had caught her first glimpse of the open hole in the fence she created when someone grasped her ankle, a plead filling her ears. The voice sounded like a matured Keller.

"Help!" The rest of the sentence was followed by grunts.

Char stopped and motioned for Keller to wait behind her. She quickly ran over to the boy, who seemed to be at least three years younger than her, fighting off a zombie. Char quickly dug the end of Joanne into the zombie's softened skull, releasing the boy from the grip it held on him. The boy sighed heavily as the body fell limp on him, "Where's my dad?" Char was about to reply with a snaky comment, her pacifist side no longer there when a middle-aged man cam charging at her, pistol wildly pointed at her and eyes glancing back to the boy and back to her. Keller had appeared in the midst of it, arms wrapped around her middle.

"Carl! Did she touch you? Did she fu-"

"Dad, she helped me."

Char lowered her hands that were raised in defense, "Sorry, sir." Her polite side had been kicked into place when the thought of being killed waltzed in her view. The man sighed in relief, hands gripping the boy, Carl, into his arms, "Don't run off like that again." Carl began to blush and push against his dad's chest, "Sorry, sorry." When the father didn't release him. Carl pushed him off, "Let go of me, where are the others?"

The man pointed to the group of survivors running her way, Daryl was in the mixture of people, chests heaving and firing at the horde chasing behind them. It looked like a scene out of a cheap horror movie; Char missed those.

Carl joined her side, hand shaking her free one, "How would you like to join the last group of survivors with terrible jokes, not to mention hygiene, and little moral sense?"

Char glanced at the barbarian of a man that had threatened to kill her, but he was smiling down at her now, eyebrow raised in question.

"Sure."

_That was three months ago._

_**I'm back bitches!**_


End file.
